Today’s request was to set Word to ignore CAPs in the settings, but to make that change only one time. WordIgnoreCapsOff.vbs does just that. First it checks if Word is installed. Then it checks if the script has run before. If not, then the setting is made, and a registry entry is written. That way the…
Author: Alan
Find Distribution Lists without a Manager
We have a mandate that all mail groups a/k/a distribution lists have a manager assigned. ListNoManager.vbs will give you the list. Rename from .txt to .vbs. Tags: distribution+lists, manager
Convert FLV files to WMV
The boss saw some videos on a government site that he wanted for people to see from a CD, so I had to download and convert the FLV files to WMVs. I used VideoLan to do the conversion. If you have not seen VideoLan, a/k/a VLC, you should make this part of your desktop. It plays almost…
Don’t forget the command prompt
I was reading my Windows IT Pro Magazine, and saw an article where they had an HTA file to map the next available drive. This seems to be a lot of work for something that can be done from the command line: Net use * \\servername\sharename /user:mydomain\myname For short term use, I prefer to use…
Locate User
If you are using NetBIOS over TCP, you can find the computer a user is logged onto with the command: nbtstat –a username That method is not effective for finding multiple sessions, nor does it work when you finally stop using NetBIOS. xFinger.vbs, by Gurgen Alaverdian was written with the interesting idea that you can find…
Heroes Happen Here
At my last IT meeting, we were given a Microsoft tee with the logo “Heroes Happen {here}”. I only wear it to cut the grass. Why? Because I work for Veterans Affairs where I see real heroes every day. Being a great Windows administrator may be worthy of recognition, but it does not make you a hero.
Converting Batch files to EXEs
A long time ago, I would compile batch files using BATCOM by Wenham Software. From time to time I still need to compile a batch file. I found a simple free converter, Bat_To_Exe_Converter.exe at http://www.f2ko.de/English/index.php. One of the nice things about this one is that it allows you to add an icon to the resulting file. …
Free Excel Password Remover 2009
When someone sends me an Excel spreadsheet with locked cells, and those cells contain errors, and they won’t unlock the spreadsheet or give me the password, then (after yelling and screaming) I just crack it. Stupid Excel passwords are weak anyway. There is some nice free software to do this here: http://www.straxx.com/excel/password.html. Send the author…
Finding Outlook Calendar Items with Attachments
Our Exchange admin always complains about not having enough space. He remarked to me that one of the space problems comes from users having calendar items with large attachments. He wanted an easy way for users with maxed out mailboxes to identify this easy source of size reduction. Outlook Calendar Items with Attachments.vbs should be run…
Check User or Computer Group membership in logon script
As an administrator, we put users into user groups all the time. In my experience, however, we rarely put computers into computer groups. Computer groups are a great way to control the user’s logon script and batch installations, especially for patch restricted or other special systems. There are a number of tools that allow you to check…